Someone else's choir

May 8, 2005

CASEY RESSLER/Valley Life editor

Red versus blue.

Conservative versus Liberal.

Republican versus Democrat.

Left Wing versus Right Wing.

Political labels have come to identify people in an absolute manner. But one local retailer is hoping to get people to step across the political aisle and at least listen to the other side's viewpoints.

"Someone Else's Choir" is the idea of David Cheezum, owner of Fireside Books in Palmer. He's offering customers a $5 in-store rebate if they purchase and read two books - one from a conservative author, one from a liberal author. The idea was born after a customer came in looking to read something "from the other side."

"Someone happened to come in and said, 'I've read a lot of conservative books, but now I want to read a liberal one,'" Cheezum said. "That stuck with me for a while. Normally, people tend to gravitate toward books about their own beliefs."

While the promotion is for books, there is a bigger meaning - to get people to respect other people's political viewpoints by being educated.

"From the local level on up to the national level, anything we can do to end the debate and start the discussion is a good

thing," Cheezum said. "We don't necessarily have to change people's minds, but we need to get to a point where we respect other people's views.

"Most of us have friends who have beliefs other than our own, and we respect that. But somehow, that quality gets lost in mass produced culture," Cheezum said. "We are not always going to agree with each other. This is about setting a more positive tone to political discussions."

The first selections in the "Someone Else's Choir" series are "Right Turns: Unconventional Lessons from a Controversial Life" by Michael Medved, and "Straight Talk from the Heartland," by Ed Schultz.

The ironic thing is that both authors originally started on the opposite side of the political aisle before switching sides - Medved from the left to the right, and Schultz vice versa.

"They are both uncompromising and have self-deprecating undercurrents," Cheezum said.

He said Medved and Schultz shine as writers who stand by their principles without offending readers with different viewpoints.

Cheezum doesn't have a set schedule to change out the books, and readers shouldn't expect to find books such as those by noted conservative Ann Coulter or liberal Al Franken.

"With those books, I don't see them inviting the other side to read them," Cheezum said. "We know from the bestseller lists that a lot of people out there read Michael Moore, the left-wing writer. And we know that a lot of people read Ann Coulter, the right-wing writer. But we also know that the people who read one aren't reading the other."

Medved is going to be at Fireside Books to sign copies of "Right Turns" on May 17 at 6 p.m.

He is coming to Alaska in conjunction with radio station KBYR.